Map taken from lonelyplanet.com
About the Country:
OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Austria
CAPITAL:
Vienna
SYSTEM OF
GOVERNMENT:
Federal Multiparty Republic
AREA:
83,853 Sq Km (32,376 Sq Mi)
ESTIMATED 2000
POPULATION:
7,995,500
LOCATION & GEOGRAPHY:
Austria is a small mountainous landlocked country in South Central Europe.
It is bound by Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to
the northeast, Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south as
well as Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. Although almost 75% of
the country is mountainous and Austria can be topographically divided into
(1.) the Eastern Alps, (2.) the northern Alpine forelands, (3.) the
Bohemian Plateau, (4.) the Vienna Basin and (5.) the eastern and southern
lowlands. The principal river is the Danube and its tributaries which flow
eastward through central Austria. Austria has the highest percentage of
forest in Central Europe with forests covering around 37% of the land
area, of which conifers account for 85% while 10% are beech, 2% are oak
and deciduous trees account for the remainder. Major Cities (pop. est.);
Vienna 1,540,000, Graz 238,000, Linz 203,000, Salzburg 144,000, Innsbruck
118,000 (1991). Land Use; forested 39%, pastures 24%,
agricultural-cultivated 18%, other 19% (1993).
CLIMATE:Austria's
climate is influenced by three climatic systems, (1.) the North Atlantic
maritime, (2.) the Mediterranean and (3.) the continental. The country can
also be divided into three climatic regions, (1.) the Alps where it is
often sunny in winter but cloudy in summer. (2.) The Danube Valley and
Vienna Basin, the driest regions where winter snow is rarely deep. (3.)
The southeast region which experiences heavy thunderstorms and where
winters can be severe, although summers are warmer and sunnier than the
Alps region. Winters are generally cold throughout the country and the
summer months are often the wettest with heavy rainfall that is also short
in duration. Average temperature ranges in Vienna are from -4 to 1 degrees
Celsius (25 to 34 degrees Fahrenheit) in January to 15 to 25 degrees
Celsius (59 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit) in July.
CURRENCY:The
official currency is the Euro divided into 100 cents.
ECONOMY:Gross
National Product; USD $183,530,000,000 (1993). National Debt; USD
$88,149,000,000 (1992). Imports; S 593,900,000,000 (1993). Exports; S
487,600,000,000 (1993). Tourism Receipts; USD $13,400,000,000 (1993).
Balance of Trade; S -89,300,000,000 (1994). Economically Active
Population; 3,679,000 or 46.7% of total population (1992). Unemployed;
6.5% (1994).
